Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas Biography

Arguably the most conservative justice in recent U.S. Supreme Court history, Clarence Thomas is well-known for his conservative/libertarian leanings. He strongly supports states rights and takes a strict constructivist approach to interpreting the U.S. Constitution. He has consistently taken political conservative positions in decisions dealing with executive power, free speech, the death penalty and affirmative action. Thomas is unafraid of voicing his dissent with the majority, even when it is politically unpopular. Early Life Thomas was born June 23, 1948, in the small, impoverished town of Pin Point, Ga., the second of three children born to M.C. Thomas and Leola Williams. Thomas was abandoned by his father at the age of two and left to the care of his mother, who raised him as a Roman Catholic. When he was seven, Thomas mother remarried and sent him and his younger brother to live with his grandfather. At his grandfathers request, Thomas left his all-black high school to attend seminary school, where he was the only African American on campus. Despite experiencing extensive racism, Thomas nevertheless graduated with honors. Formative Years Thomas had considered becoming a priest, which was one reason he chose to attend St. John Vianneys Minor Seminary in Savannah, where he was one of just four Black students. Thomas was still on track to be a priest when he attended Conception Seminary College, but he left after hearing a student utter a racist comment in response to the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Thomas transferred to the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts, where he founded the Black Student Union. After graduation, Thomas failed a military medical exam, which excluded him from being drafted. He then enrolled in Yale Law School. Early Career Immediately after graduating from law school, Thomas found it difficult to obtain a job. Many employers falsely believed that he received his law degree due only to affirmative action programs. Nevertheless, Thomas landed a job as an assistant US attorney for Missouri under John Danforth. When Danforth was elected to the U.S. Senate, Thomas worked as a private attorney for an agriculture firm from 1976 to 1979. In 1979, he returned to work for Danforth as his legislative assistant. When Ronald Reagan was elected in 1981, he offered Thomas a job as Assistant Secretary of Education in the Office of Civil Rights. Thomas accepted. Political Life Not long after his appointment, the president promoted Thomas to head the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. As director of the EEOC, Thomas angered civil rights groups when he shifted the focus of the agency from filing class-action discrimination lawsuits. Instead, he concentrated on reducing discrimination in the workplace, and emphasizing his philosophy of self-reliance for African Americans, chose to pursue individual discrimination suits. In 1990, President George H.W. Bush appointed Thomas to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington DC. Supreme Court Nomination Less than a year after Thomas was appointed to the appeals court, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall—the nations first African American Justice—announced his retirement. Bush, impressed with Thomas conservative positions, nominated him to fill the position. Facing a Democrat-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee and the wrath of civil rights groups, Thomas faced stiff opposition. Recalling how conservative Judge Robert Bork had doomed his nomination by providing detailed answers at his confirmation hearings, Thomas was hesitant to provide lengthy answers to interrogatories. Anita Hill Just before the end of his hearings, an FBI investigation was leaked to the Senate Judiciary Committee regarding sexual harassment allegations leveled at Thomas by former EEOC staff worker Anita Hill. Hill was aggressively questioned by the committee and offered shocking details of Thomas alleged sexual misconduct. Hill was the only witness to testify against Thomas, although  another staffer offered similar allegations in a written statement.   Confirmation Although Hills testimony had transfixed the nation, preempted soap operas and competed for airtime with the World Series, Thomas never lost is composure, maintaining his innocence throughout the proceedings, yet expressing his outrage at the circus the hearings had become. In the end, the judiciary committee was deadlocked at 7-7, and the confirmation was sent to the full Senate for a floor vote with no recommendation being made. Thomas was confirmed 52-48 along partisan lines in one of the narrowest margins in Supreme Court history. Service to the Court Once his nomination was secured and he took his seat on the High Court, Thomas quickly asserted himself as a conservative justice. Aligned primarily with conservative justices William Rehnquist and Antonin Scalia, Thomas is nonetheless his own man. He has offered lone dissenting opinions, and at times, has been the sole conservative voice on the Court.

Appeal of Robert Frosts Out Out Essay - 1055 Words

There have been many interesting and appealing poems written throughout history. One of the most interesting and appealing poems is Robert Frost’s â€Å"Out, Out†. The poem has the ability to make the reader visualize an event in vivid detail without making it into a short story. The poem depicts a very dramatic scene and makes it seem as if the reader is really there. Poems are generally thought to be about love and feelings, but some poems can actually be like a short story; these are called narrative poems, which means that they tell a story. The poem â€Å"Out, Out† is a great example of a narrative poem, telling the story of a young boy cutting a tree. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Robert Frost captures one’s attention with the opening line†¦show more content†¦Now is when the snarling buzz-saw proves its evil growl to mean something as it â€Å"leaped out of the boy’s hand, or seemed to leap† (15). Frost did not say that the boy dropped the saw or that the boy lost control of the saw, but that the saw itself leaped out of the boy’s hand of its own free will. The saw is not happy enough with its free will to leap out at the boy but it also cuts off his hand â€Å"neither refused the meeting. But the hand!† (18). nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The poem now gets to the peak of its drama. The saw cut the boy’s hand off and he is desperately trying to figure out what to do â€Å"holding up the hand half in appeal, but half as if to keep the life from spilling.† (20-22). The boy is bleeding as one would expect from getting cut at a major artery at the wrist. The boy’s blood is spilling out and he is trying to keep his life from spilling out. Frost does not call it blood but he calls it the boy’s life to let you know that he is slowly dying as he bleeds more and more. The boy does not seem to know what really happened, he is in a state of shock. The boy tells his sister â€Å"Don’t let him cut my hand off—The doctor, when he comes. Don’t let him, sister! So. But the hand was already gone† (25-27). The boy did not realize that he had already lost his hand. The doctor comes and puts the boy in the â€Å"dark of ether† (28) and the doctor tried to do what he could but it was to no avail the boyShow MoreRelatedRobert Frost Essay1396 Words   |  6 PagesRobert Frost Robert Frost is one of the few twentieth century poets to receive critical acclaim and popular acceptance (Magill 728). His simplistic style appeals to the novice and expert poetry reader alike. Robert Frosts understated emotional appeal attracts readers of all literary levels. Frost develops subtly stated emotions and a clever use of imagery in his poetry. Influences on his poetry include his family, work, and other life experiences (Oxford 267). Frost also works to developRead MoreEssay on The Intricate Meanings of Robert Frost s Poetry784 Words   |  4 PagesRobert Frost is considered by many to be one of the greatest poets of the twentieth century. Frost’s work has been regarded by many as unique. Frost’s poems mainly take place in nature, and it is through nature that he uses sense appealing-vocabulary to immerse the reader into the poem. In the poem, â€Å"Hardwood Groves†, Frost uses a Hardwood Tree that is losing its leaves as a symbol of lifeâ €™s vicissitudes. â€Å"Frost recognizes that before things in life are raised up, they must fall down† (BloomRead More Class Struggle in Robert Frosts Poem Out, Out Essay1676 Words   |  7 PagesClass Struggle in Robert Frosts Poem Out, Out- Robert Frosts poem Out, Out- is developed around a clear and unquestionable moment: a horrifying accident in which a young boy is mutilated by a buzz saw. Frosts underlying message, however, isnt nearly as straightforward. As the poem develops, two clear levels of interpretation seem to surface. While on the basic level the poem would seem to be a simple metaphor for mans struggles with nature, a more careful analysis suggests a level ofRead MoreModern F. Robert Frost1547 Words   |  7 PagesDavid Ahlman Charles Vogel English 2520-601 Due Date: November 9th, 2015 Robert Frost: Modern Multiplicity Robert Frost is a multiple poet. –Louis Untermeyer What is customary and, therefore, stereotypical of modern artistic thought is the belief that only one central meaning can be gathered from any one reading; that these singular interpretations support, give credence and justify hegemonic forces or grand narratives in society. Defining the term â€Å"modern† in his work The Postmodern Condition:Read MoreThe Poetry of Robert Frost Essay754 Words   |  4 PagesRobert Frost has long been recognised as one of America’s greatest poets. Each poem begins with a straightforward description of a place or situation and then gently moves towards commentary and reflection on human life. There are life lessons to be learned in every poem which appeal to the reader both intellectually and emotionally. Frost deals with various aspects of human life throughout his poetry, such as; childhood, relationships, death, decision making, depression etc. Frost expresses theseRead More A Comparison of the Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Fr ost1062 Words   |  5 PagesThe Poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost The poetry of Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost contains similar themes and ideas. Both poets attempt to romanticize nature and both speak of death and loneliness. Although they were more than fifty years apart, these two seem to be kindred spirits, poetically speaking. Both focus on the power of nature, death, and loneliness. The main way in which these two differ is in their differing use of tone. The power of nature is a recurring themeRead MoreBitterness: Poetry and World1016 Words   |  5 PagesIn the past and present, there have been numerous poets who have composed similar pieces to those of other poets. In 1859, Emily Dickinson produced Success is counted sweetest. In1923, Robert Frost wrote Fire and Ice. That same year, Wallace Stevens created Gubbinal. These three poems share much in common. They contain many of the same elements of poetry, such as connotative meaning, imagery, symbolism, and tone. First, the three famous poems all possess a connotative meaning . WithinRead MoreThe Tuft Of Flowers By Robert Frost864 Words   |  4 Pages Robert Frost said many times throughout his life that all men share a common bond. In his poem â€Å"The Tuft of Flowers† he analyzes the potential of such a bond, in first person. Frost turns an everyday common job, into discovering a common bond with another laborer. The author uses a comparison between aloneness with a sense of understanding to demonstrate his theme of unity between two men. In another one of Frost’s poems â€Å"Birches† he imagines walking through the woods looking at all the trees,Read MoreTwinkle, Little Star1512 Words   |  7 PagesTwinkle, Little Star Entwined within two poems, one titled Bright Star and authored by John Keats, the other called Choose Something Like a Star penned by Mr. Robert Frost, emerges the similar theme of the human need for stability and sense of permanence. Although varied in literary devices, sub themes, and structure the like poems strongly convey this common ideal and do so with the powerful icon of the star, or the heavens. The star historically represents the eternalness of the heavens andRead MoreThe Theme Of Birches By Robert Frost1065 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Birches† by Robert Frost Have you ever walked through a frozen forest? Well, Robert Frost will take you on a journey through the forest in his poem, â€Å"Birches.† He also takes readers on a journey through life and memories. The main character of the poem, the speaker, is an old man, who throughout the poem’s story, is looking back on his childhood. When he walks through the forest, he sees the broken tree branches and thinks back to a time when those broken branches were created by swinging on them

Lyman Frank Baum Free Essays

Lyman Frank Baum is an American writer, independent film maker, and actor who was born on May 15, 1856 in Chittenango, New York from a Scottish Irish mother named Cynthia Stanton who is the direct descendant of Thomas Stanton, the founder of the Stonington, Connecticut, and a German father named Benjamin Ward Baum. From 1880 to 1902 he became a newspaper-man and began writing a series of books in which he made an original fairyland, a world of fantastic characters and light-hearted adventures, and the Land of Oz, and from this books, the most famous was the â€Å"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz† written in 1900 (L. Frank Baum, Encarta). We will write a custom essay sample on Lyman Frank Baum or any similar topic only for you Order Now Baum wrote 13 sequels, 9 other fantasy novels, 82 short stories, over 200 poems, and many miscellaneous writing, which resulted to numerous attempts to bring back his work to the screen and stage. Because of Baum’s love for theatre, often to his financial detriment, he often support elaborate musicals. Baum adapted the â€Å"The Wonderful Wizard of Oz† as a ‘musical extravaganza’ named The Wizard of Oz in 1901, and before Baum’s death he wrote an additional thirteen more books all about Oz (L. Frank Baum, Encarta). The book became the best selling children’s book after its initial publication in 1900. Baum was originally a Methodist but later he joined the Episcopal Church to be included in community theatrical arts, and later he was encouraged by his wife in 1897 to become a Theosophist. According to records, Baum’s belief is reflected or can be seen in his writings. After Baum’s death in May 6, 1919, several writers continued his series, which resulted to huge volumes. Works Cited â€Å"L. Frank Baum.† 2007.   L. Frank Baum – MSN Encarta, 12 January 2008    How to cite Lyman Frank Baum, Essay examples